Twenty-seven protesters blocked access to Governor Bruce Rauner’s office at the state Capitol in Springfield Tuesday. They wanted the Republican governor and General Assembly Democrats to agree to a state budget

On the 21st: We learned about how a program aimed at reducing wait times for veterans needing medical care has experienced mixed results in Illinois. Plus, we talked with lawmakers behind a bill aimed at reducing hate crimes in Illinois and got an update on state politics with reporters from across the state.

Earlier this year, NPR analyzed the length of wait times for veterans to get appointments and treatment at Veterans Affairs medical facilities. Over the next few days, you will hear a Midwestern perspective on a federal program trying to improve veterans care.

Illinois Democrats remain divided over how to address the state’s financial crisis. House Democrats are trying to decide whether to follow the lead of their counterparts in the Senate, who voted last week to to raise income taxes and expand the sales tax.

All though Illinois’ budget impasse, one part of the budget has continued --- state funding for public schools.

But local school officials complain the school budget does not include so-called “categoricals”. That’s state funding for certain designated purposes, like school bus programs and Special Education personnel.

Officials with the Illinois State Board of Elections say the nearly two-year budget stalemate could interfere with preparations for next year’s election. The warning came at a legislative budget hearing Sunday afternoon.

Scott Air Force Base near Belleville is celebrating its 100th anniversary. It was founded in 1917 as Scott Field, named after Cpl. Frank Scott, the first enlisted member of the U.S. armed forces to lose his life in an aviation accident.

Lincoln’s Challenge Academy Director Peter Thomas worries that Memorial Day has lost some of its meaning. At a ceremony on Friday, Thomas recalled Memorial Day as a holiday when stores closed and Americans gathered.